But youd still be missing something.
To survive when the dead are walking the Earth, youre gonna need to be able to run.
While you run, youll hear story clips interspersed with songs from your own playlist.
What makesZombies, Run!work is the fact that its really, really well written.
Where did the idea come from?
So my friend Adrian Hon and I had been thinking for a while that we should make something together.
Id just done a beginning to run course.
Right at the start, the organisers said so, why do you want to run?
and someone answered to outrun the zombie horde which made everyone laugh.
and thats where it all started.
The game was initially funded through Kickstarter, and was massively successful.
Were you surprised by the level of demand?
Why do you think zombie stories are still so popular?
I was surprised, though I think Adrian was a bit less so?
But obviously it did!
Theyre both frightening, horrifying and funny.
Whats the writing process like?
How do you balance all those considerations when writing the story?
Which takes some thought.
You also cant underestimate the immersiveness of actually doing what your character in the game is doing.
The immersion would get pretty intense pretty quickly!
How do you take that into account when writing?
Heh, people seem to love that mission 9!
I do think that exercising makes you feel things more strongly.
How far in advance do you plan out the plotlines?
Its well into its second season now, did you always know thatd happen?
I hoped it would, and I planned with that in mind.
for enough story to last us at least three seasons.
So I still have a lot of it in my head.
Having said that, sometimes you sit down and you find a great idea in the writing.
The voice acting is fantastic.
How involved were you in casting the voice actors?
It is, isnt it?!
Can you wait here, we might want you to read for something else.
He sounded like a Sam, that combination of nervousness and humour.
Are you involved with the actual recording of the game?
I love sitting in on the recordings.
Margaret Atwood is a character in season 2, how did that come about?
She is mentoring me this year as part of the Rolex Mentor/Protegee Arts Initiative.
I think the second time we met I said do you fancy being inZombies, Run!?
and she said OK, with a gleam in her eye.
The silliness is all a part of the delight of working with her.
Will there be more celebrity voice cameos in future?
I really hope we do get more voice cameos!
Youve even hired a fanfic writer to write some season 2 missions…
Oh its amazing.
I love seeing the fan creations.
I think there are people writingCommunityfanfic, for example, which is better than what theyre currently doing withCommunity.
It seems kind of unavoidable sometimes…
I certainly didnt fall in love with him while writing him, I think its all in Phils performance.
We do need a few more of those in our culture.
Can you recommend any particular songs for players to listen to while running?
Heh, I love that too.
I listen to terrible music when exercising.
I mean like, early Madonna, Boney M, the Fratellis, Shakira…
I cant claim interesting musical taste.
Naomi Alderman, thank you very much!
The Zombies, Run!
app is available for iOS and Android devices; get more info and download it fromwww.zombiesrungame.com.
